


Blank

by reijeux



Category: The Last Remnant
Genre: Angst, Fluff, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-04-02
Updated: 2015-04-02
Packaged: 2018-03-20 23:18:12
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,600
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3668877
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/reijeux/pseuds/reijeux
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Rush loses his memory after being injured during a quest.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Blank

**Author's Note:**

  * For [sutera](https://archiveofourown.org/users/sutera/gifts).



> Written for fellow AO3 author, sutera!!
> 
> Starts during the six-month gap and continues on from there, but event details will be very vague and there will be unexplained time jumps. I apologize for any inconsistencies with the actual game omg, I am still so far from being an expert on it but I’m doing my best. Story starts off after The Successor. Also, knowledge of The Distant Promise would be good.
> 
> Also, this is David’s PoV more than anything, and I think I made him a little ooc omg.

The Marquis was beyond panicked when he heard news of Torgal’s return from the Gaslin Caves with an unconscious Rush. His panic did not settle when the unsurprisingly calm Sovani told him that, while doing battle with the self-proclaimed “Steel Syndicate,” Rush had been hit with a large piece of debris that had burst from the ground as a result from casting one of his own arts.

While Pagus told David that Rush would be fine, that did not stop him from waiting for him to wake by his bedside whenever he was given the opportunity. Word of Rush’s current state was sent out to Marina and Irina, albeit with hesitance, as David knew the news would only add more to the worry they already had with John Sykes in a coma.

Thankfully, Rush was not out for even a week, and when he finally awoke, he seemed fine.

At first.

News of his awakening came while David was having his supper in the dining hall. Emmy had been the one to tell him; however, her words were laced with bemusement rather than excitement. Her tone had gone unnoticed and her news unfinished, as the Marquis swiftly left the dining hall the moment, “Rush is awake--” left her mouth.

“Rush!” David spoke the moment he entered the younger’s room; Rush was sitting up in his bed with Pagus by his side. “Rush, how are you feeling?”

Rush looked at him in bewilderment before responding, “I feel fine, but…” His voice faded, unsure.

“But? Are you still hurting anywhere? Your head?” David turned his attention to Pagus, who cleared his throat.

“Rush has amnesia, my lord,” Pagus said. “as a result of the head injury.”

“Am- _amnesia_?”

Rush gave him an apologetic smile and half-heartedly shrugged his shoulders, “Sorry. I don’t really remember anything except my name, I guess.”

-

_Their relationship was knowledge among those close to them, despite their poor attempts to keep it hidden. It was a little cute, according to Emmy, how hard they worked to hide things from them, but also a little sad they wouldn’t outright say what they were. They all understood why neither, especially David, would ever admit what kind of relationship they had._

_Neither of them saw it coming, actually. While everyone around them noticed their growing adoration for each other, David and Rush never noticed themselves until the evening after returning to Athlum from the events in Nagapur with Irina._

_They spent that evening just talking about the events in the garden; the conversation gradually switched to other subjects before they eventually settled on talking about the stars. Somehow, they sunk into a comfortable silence as they were sat watching the sky._

_As Rush leaned back on his hands, he bumped his elbow against David’s arm._

_“Oops, sorry, Dave--” Somehow it resulted in the locking of their eyes and if the mood had been any different, Rush would have cracked a joke about how cheesy the moment seemed._

_He didn’t make such a joke, however. In fact, the both of them remained silent for what felt like ages, just looking at each other and barely hearing the other breathing._

_David couldn’t remember who initiated it, because all he remembered was feeling Rush’s lips against his own, and for that moment, all that existed in the world was Rush._

_Their private moments since then were only simple kisses and light brushes of their hands, just taking in each other’s presence with small talk and almost shy smiles. David didn’t know what kind of name to give themselves and he could only assume Rush didn’t know either, but they were fine with that. They only wanted to soak up the other’s presence as much as they were allowed with the amount of time they were given._

-

Over the days that followed, being around Rush and unable to speak with him as he normally would was actually painful. Pagus recommended keeping him in Athlum for a while and even try exposing him to favorite scents of food or other things to try and trigger his memory again. Sending him back to Eulam was another option, but with everyone important to Rush being busy with _something_ , sending him back alone or even with a hired escort seemed to be out of the question.

As for how Rush was doing, he was unusually quiet and withdrawn during the first couple days since he had woken up, a completely different change that none of them were used to. David didn’t feel right just telling him what they had been—they hadn’t been together that long, so what difference would it have made to his memory…? He found it unnecessary, especially with how busy he has been with the Congress.

Nonetheless, he still did his best to treat Rush as he usually did, being as helpful as he possibly could with any questions the younger male had. Even as Rush grew comfortable around everyone and became as outgoing as he usually was, none of the questions he had were related to what David wanted to avoid talking about in the first place.

Even so, however, moments where Rush would grow quiet did not go unnoticed by David, especially when David could feel his eyes on him. Those moments made it all the more difficult to avoid bringing up their memories together. Only when Rush would say something or even laugh did David let out a relieved breath, even when all he would want in that moment was to kiss him.

-

When David was met with a flower to the face the moment he opened the door to leave his room, his first instinct was to pull out his blade; he stopped himself before he could even touch it, luckily.

“It’s for you.” Rush lowered the flower and shoved it in David’s hands; David didn’t have the time to feel even a little disappointed that Rush didn’t refer to him by the usual ‘Dave’ he had grown fond of.

“For--” Before the Marquis could even finish, Rush had taken off down the hall, clearly flustered. David watched him disappear around the corner before turning his attention to the flower.

Was Rush trying to… _court_ him?

David suddenly laughed; Rush hadn’t changed at all.

-

A couple weeks passed, and the amount of little gifts Rush would give David grew. Rush had been hesitant the first couple times, but as the Marquis accepted them, he became more confident with his gift giving.

David received flowers, polished stones, books, foods—while he was not one who enjoyed gaining gifts for even his birthday, _these_ gifts were the exception.

They were from Rush, and with every item Rush would give him, he found himself falling for the younger man all over again.

As he looked out the window of his bedroom to stare at the sky, David lightly caressed a smooth stone he was gifted with his thumb. He let out an almost icy chuckle.

“How bittersweet.”

Resting his forehead against the window, he wanted to cry.

-

With news of Duke Ghor’s decision for the Remnants, David felt he could rest easier knowing that the people have been pacified and there were no signs of oncoming war.

Blocter suggested they have a celebration to let off some steam after everything that had happened in the last few months. David could not agree more.

The celebration commenced, and Rush was nowhere to be found. Nobody had seen him all afternoon while preparations were being made, and assuming the raven-haired boy was in his room, David decided to check on him.

Reaching Rush’s door, David gave it a couple knocks, “Rush?” He waited for a moment, only to be met with silence.

“Rush, are you in there?” He knocked again and touched the doorknob, right before the door opened from the inside. Rush looked at him with a half-hearted grin. David noted that he actually looked _worn_.

“Sorry about that, Dave. Did the party already start?”

“I… yes, it did, just… Rush, are you alright? I can have food taken up if you are feeling ill.”

“What, and miss all the fun? Nah, I’m fine!” Rush assured him, stepping out of the room. “C’mon, I better bring Athlum’s beloved leader back before people start getting suspicious, yeah?” It was meant to be a joke, but it still tugged at David’s heart.

“Right.”

Reaching halfway to the festivities did it dawn on David that Rush referred to him by name.

He also noticed, during the celebration, how differently Rush was acting among everyone—as if he was forcing himself to smile.

Did he remember something? And if so, what?

David was unsure of how late it was when Rush decided to pull him out to the garden; as much as the Marquis desperately hoped no one noticed so questions would not be asked later, he was sure he spotted Torgal watching them leave.

“What is it, Rush?” He was fully aware of the obvious affection this Rush held for him at this point, though he himself did not outwardly return it, as much as he wanted to. So, when Rush kissed him, David felt himself freeze. He desperately wanted to kiss back, to wrap his arms around him and let the world be just the two of them like before, but he felt he couldn’t. Not with this Rush.

When the younger pulled away, David wanted to apologize, but Rush beat him to it instead.

“Sorry,” he said, chuckling awkwardly. “I’ve been wanting to do that for a while. You should have punched me.”

“No, it’s… don’t worry about it.” They stood in silence, looking up to the sky. A wave of nostalgia washed over David, and he swallowed the forming lump in his throat.

“Hey, Dave?” Rush spoke up after a moment. There was that name again.

“Yes?”

“No matter what happens, could you promise to trust me?”

“What do you mean?”

Rush looked at him, “Can you make that promise?”

David studied his features under the glow from the few lanterns that hung outside the palace. He looked even more worn than he did earlier.

There was _something_ on his mind.

“Rush--”

“ _Please_.”

“…Alright. I promise.”

Rush smiled his first genuine smile of the evening, “Thanks, Dave.”

-

Rush acted as usual from then on. Every once in a while, he’d cheer about how ‘he remembered something,’ and soon, it seemed as though he had a good portion of his memory back. He was still very hazy on the details of many things, however, and it seemed to David that he still did not remember what they had been.

The gifts came to a stop, and Rush began keeping his distance. David didn’t think too much of the distance until they crashed into each other in the hall one evening. Apologies were traded, and Rush continued on his way without another word.

David silently watched him go.

-

He asked Rush to accompany him to Fornstrand after the gaining of Athlum’s independence. With the events leading up to then, David had been too busy to take Rush aside, just the two of them, and talk with him. He found this a good opportunity to figure out what was on Rush’s mind, as well as open up a little more to him about his past.

David wasn’t expecting Rush to agree to the trip, but he was thankful that he didn’t try coming up with an excuse not to go. He didn’t necessarily believe that Rush was _uncomfortable_ with him exactly, but that still didn’t fill him with uncertainty.

When they reached their destination in Fornstrand, David began to tell Rush of what happened to _her_ many years ago.

It had been a while since he actually thought of _her_. With one thing happening after another as of late, he knew he wasn’t at fault for doing so, but it still wasn’t enough reason to feel any less guilty.

Truth be told, upon meeting Rush, he momentarily thought that he was meeting her again, in a strange way. Deep down, despite Rush’s naivety from first glance, David supposed all he wanted was to meet another _her_ , someone who didn’t treat him in a way based on his title, someone who treated him in a way that reminded him that yes, there was more to him than his status.

He didn’t want to replace her or his memories of _her_. Rush was never her replacement.

David created many memories with those he cared about, memories that only _he_ had because those he cared for—his mother, his father, Emma, _her_ —they all left him alone with those memories.

He didn’t want that with Rush. He wanted Rush to remember, he—

“Dave?”

David snapped from his thoughts, not realizing he had zoned out while speaking. He felt shaky, light-headed…

“I’m sorry, Rush,” he kneeled on the ground. “…I need a moment.”

“Hey, it’s alright.” He felt Rush squeeze his shoulder.

“Rush, can you be honest with me?”

“Mm? Yeah, of course.”

David slowly inhaled, “Is anything bothering you? Anything at all?”

Without missing a beat, Rush responded, “Bothering me? Why would you ask that?” He was lying, and he had a feeling Rush knew that he could tell.

“…Well… lately, you’ve been…”

“Listen, Dave. Don’t worry so much, alright?” Rush grinned. “I’m _fine_.”

David _wanted_ to tell him to stop pretending. He _wanted_ to, but he just… couldn’t.

So he watched Rush turn away, announcing that they should get back, and David’s feet felt heavy as he followed.

Rush was distancing himself again.

When they returned to Athlum, Blocter was one of the first to greet them and noted that the air suddenly felt so heavy.

Everyone was starting to notice.

-

A bad feeling settled itself within David during their entire journey to and through the Sacred Lands. While he was confident they could take care of the Conqueror, he still felt _uneasy_ , and he couldn’t pinpoint the exact reason.

Rush had become quiet on the journey as well. Aside from his light-hearted responses to anything directed at him, he rarely started a conversation on his own.

“What are you thinking about?” David heard himself ask the moment they stood in front of the doors they knew would lead to the Conqueror. Rush caught his gaze and smiled.

“Just about what kind of present I’ll get you when we get back to Athlum.”

David wasn’t expecting such a response, and by the way Rush was smiling, he wasn’t telling the whole truth.

“Rush--”

“Dave, listen.” Rush lowered his voice, as if only wanting him to hear, despite the fact that their groups’ eyes were all on them. “Whatever happens in there, you promised you would trust me, yeah?”

“Of course…”

“So please,” the sudden faint glow of Rush’s talisman caught David’s eye, “believe in me.”

“I already do believe in you.”

Rush said nothing else and brushed his fingers against David’s hand before turning to the door.

As the door opened, David still felt the warmth of Rush linger on his skin, and he realized Rush remembered.

-

Rush knew all along. David had a sneaking suspicion that was the case, but he wasn’t sure.

But Rush knew. He knew he was a Remnant and that was why he distanced himself.

And when David saw his smile for the last time, he was overcome with the same kind of grief he had been overwhelmed with in the past. Rush hid this knowledge from him and suffered with it alone.

But he left with a _smile_.

David could only yell for him.

**Author's Note:**

> Oh gosh, I couldn't end this any other way so look forward to an epilogue!!


End file.
